Tension and bloom control device



April 1945. P. A. STEVENSON TENSION AND BLOOM CONTROL DEVICE Filed Sept. 16, 1942 a aw V5; 42%

Patented Apr. 10, 1945 UNITED- STATES PATENT OFFECE TENSION AND BLOOM CONTROL DEVICE Prince Arthur Stevenson, Waterloo, S. C. v I Application September16, 1942, Serial No. 458,549

Claims.

This invention relates to a tension and bloom control device for use on spoolers. In particular, my invention relates to a tension device for automatic high-speed spoolers of the type manufactured by Barber-Colman Company. Such spoolers are of the general type shown in U. S. patent to Colman 1,175,710, and employing a spooling process disclosed in Peterson 1,646,833.

In spoolers of the type referred to above, the machine involves a series of bobbin pockets, each containing an active bobbin which is held stationary on a skewer during unwinding of the yarn therefrom, and a reserve bobbin which is substituted for the active bobbin when the yarn becomes exhausted on the active bobbin, the outgoing yarn being automatically tied to the yarn on the reserve bobbin at the proper instant. In the operation of high speed spoolers of this type it has been usual to use warp wound bobbins, and to take off the yarn from the bobbin according to the process disclosed in Peterson 1,646,833 where the yarn balloons or blooms out from the bobbin as it is unwound therefrom. It has been found that the filling-wound bobbin cannot be successfully used on spoolers of this type due to the tendency of the yarn to form kinks which pass to the spool or cheese and cause trouble in the subsequent treatment of the yarn. Also, it is not possible to secure high-speed spooling with filling-wound bobbins due to the tendency of the conical layers on the filling wind to "rope or come of! of the bobbin in bunches which become caught in the yarn guide and cause the yarn to break. Peterson Patent 1,646,833 indicates that themethod of unwindging yarn by drawing the yarn oil from the end of filling-wound bobbins is desirable by reason oi'the low tension placed upon the yarn, but theretofore this method has proved impracticable at relatively high speeds.

An object of my invention is to devise a ten- Still another object is to devise a self-thread- I ing tension device for use on automatic spoolers.

My invention is illustrated in the accompanyin: drawing in which Figure 1 is a diagrammatic view illustrating certain essential parts of a high-speed spooler and showing my tension device applied thereto;

Figure 2 is a fragmentary sectional view taken along line 2-2 showing a plan view of the tension device mounted in the bobbin pocket;

Figure 3 is a sectional view taken along line 3-3 of Figure 2 showing the construction of the tension device; and

Figure 4 is an elevational view, partly in section, showing a modified form of tension device and illustrating the approximate shape of the ballooning zone above and below the tension device.

Referring to the drawing, A indicates the usual bobbin holder or pocket in which is located the active bobbin 0 and the reserve bobbin b. B indicates generally the detector and guide structure commonly found in high speed winders located above each bobbin pocket; C, a snick plate; D, a. cam drum for rotating the yarn mass E on a cheese or spool and for traversing the active thread F on the mass. G is a clamp for holding the end of the reserve thread H from bobbin b. It will be understood that the spooler includes a suitable knotter for trying the end of active thread F to thread H at a point just below the clamp G, and the reserve thread H is automatically positioned in the detector B and snick plate C in the usual manner when the bobbin b is substituted for the bobbin a.

My tension device is preferably positioned within the bobbin pocket, and may be mounted on one of the walls of the pocket as shown in Figure 2 in a position directly in line with the upper end of the active bobbin and spaced therefrom. In Figure 2 the two side walls of the bobbin pocket are represented at Al and A2. In Figure 1 a part of wall A2 is shown broken away.

The details of construction of my tension device are shown in Figures 2 and 3. It comprises a sleeve member I suitably supported on side wall Al so that its axis is substantially coincident with the axis of active bobbin a. As will be seen, the sleeve axis is substantially vertical. The upper end of sleeve l is provided with a head or ring 2 of rounded cross-section. This ring may be formed separate from sleeve I and soldered or otherwise secured to sleeve l, or it may be formed integrally with sleeve I if desired. At the lower end of sleeve 1 a removable ring 3 is provided which forms a seat for retaining a spherical ball 4. The upper inner edge of ring 3 is suitably chamfered to provide a uniform seating area for the ball on the ring 3. The entire inner surface of the ring 3 should be quite smooth, since the yarn rotates aroimd this ring in contact with the inner surface thereof during unwinding. As shownatlinFigure2,sleeve I andringszand 3 are slotted substantially tangentially with the inner cylindrical surface of ring I. A yarn guiding wing or bailie i is secured to sleeve I on the rear side of slot I and extends from the sleeve forward towards the reserve thread H and is inclined towards the opposite wall A2 of the bobbin pocket. The purpose of this wing or baiile is to guide the reserve thread H into the slot I after the tying operation and to thereby uide the reserve thread into the tension device without attention from the operator.

Operation of my tension device is as follows:

After each knotting operation, skewer 1 discharges active bobbin u. and picks up reserve bobbin b, moving it into position in line with the tension device. As the reserve bobbin moves to the left the reserve thread comes into contact with wing 8 and is guided into the slot 5. The ballooning action of the thread as it is drawn from the bobbin causes the thread to rotatearound ball 4 at a very high rate. The weight of the ball 4 on the thread which is positioned between the ball 4 and the ring 3 serves to impose a definite tension on the thread, depending upon the total weight of the ball and the character of the surface of the ball and of its seat on ring 3. During unwinding operation, the thread rotates continuously around ball 4 and therefore there is no tendency for the thread to wear localized grooves in ring 3 or in ball 4. Furthermore, as will be seen from Figure 2, with the direction of rotation of the thread as shown by the arrow 8, the thread will not pass out of groove 5 but will continue to rotate within the tension device. If the direction of rotation of the thread should be in the opposite direction, the slot 5 would be positioned on the opposite side of sleeve I and the wing 6 would be inclined towards wall AI instead of towards wall A2.

The size and weight of ball 4 will depend upon the weight and material of the yarn and the desired tension which must be placed thereon. I have obtained successful operation using an agate ball, but the ball may be made of porcelain. steel or any other material having a smooth hard surface. Balls of different sizes may be substituted by removing ring 3 and substituting other rings having seats of different diameters for accommodating different sizes of balls.

From the foregoing it will be seen that my tension device not only imposes a definite tension on the yarn at all times, but it also permits the yarn to balloon to a limited extent in passing through the device. In fact, the tension device is located within the ballooning zone of the yarn at the end of the bobbin, the ring 8 serving to limit and define the circular path of movement of the yarn in one transverse plane of the ballooning zone, and the ball 4 serving to press the yarn against ring 3 in all positions of its circular movement. This arrangement operates in a very successful manner and avoids the difllculties previously encountered in attempting to operate high-speed spoolers with filling-wound bobbins.

It is obvious that the tension applying element of my tension device need not be in the form of a ball, but may have other forms. For example, the tension applying element may assume the form of a plug 4a. having a conical outer surface seated in a ring Sa as shown in Figure 4.

asvasrs The plug may be suitably weighted by a depending weight 4b to maintain the plug in its horizontal position. The solid line 1'' and the dotted line F outline the approximate shape of the ballooning zone of the thread 1' below and above the tension device. It will be understood that the device shown in Figure 4 may be provided with a yarn guiding arm or wing like the arm 8showninFigures1to3. Byvflrylngthesize of weight 4a, the tension applied to the yarn may be varied.

The greatest advantage of my invention is obtained when it is employed in connection with filling-wound bobbins, but it is obvious that the device is not limited to such use, since it may be applied wherever it is desired to control the tension of yarn at a point where the yarn has a ballooning zone.

The advantage of my tension device when used in connection with filling-wound bobbins is that each bobbin will carry more yards of yarn and the spooler may be operated at the same high speed operation as in the case of warp-wound bobbins. For example, a filling-wound bobbin will carry about five hundred more yards of yarn than the warp-wound bobbin in the case of thirty weight yarn. This increased capacity of the bobbin involves less handling of the bobbin and permits the spinner, the doifer and the spooler tender to operate more spindles. Furthermore, my tension device reduces the number of thick places in a given quantity of yarn, and there is less yarn left on the bobbin as waste. Another advantage of the filling wind is that when the yarn becomes tangled it will straighten up more easily, thereby resulting in less waste and greater elasticity will be left in the yarn.

While I have described my invention as applied to a spooler of the type manufactured by Barber-Colman Company. it is obvious that it is not limited to use on this type of machine but may be employed on machines of other manufacture.

What I claim is:

the yarn passes and the inner surface of which defines the circular path of movement of the yarn in one transverse plane of the ballooning zone thereof, said ring element being slotted in a plane substantially tangent to the inner periphery of said ring to provide for the passage of the yarn from the outside of the ring to the inside thereof, and an elementcooperating with said ring for pressing said yarn into engagement with said ring at all points in its circular movement about said ring.

2. A yarn tensioning and ballooning control device according to claim 1 wherein the element cooperating with the ring comprises a ball element seated in said ring.

3. A yarn tensioning and ballooning control device comprising a vertical sleeve element, a removable ring element positioned at the lower end of said sleeve element, a ball element positioned within said sleeve and seated on said ring, said sleeve and ring elements being slotted in a plane tangent to the inner surface of said ring,

and a yarn guiding arm carried by said sleeve and forming an extension of the outermost surface of said slot for guiding the yarn in its ballooning action into said slot and into said sleeve and ring.

4. A yarn tensioning and ballooning control device according to claim 3 wherein said sleeve side of said slot and extending outwardly from said ring and forming an extension of the trailing side of said slot for guiding said yarn in its ballooning movement into said slot and into said 5 ring.

PRINCE STEVENSON. 

